Sports Redux: Tim Wakefield Belongs To The Ages Now

Who's the all-time leader for games started by a Red Sox pitcher? Trick question; there's a tie. Let's try it this way: who's the all-time leader for games started by a Red Sox pitcher who didn't end his Red Sox career with bitterness and acrimony, then go on to win championships with the Yankees and end his baseball career under a cloud of steroid-related suspicion?

The answer is of course Tim Wakefield, who was almost literally picked up off the scrap heap in 1995 and has gone on to become a Sox mainstay. And yesterday, he twirled six innings of a shutout to tie He Who Shall Not Be Named, getting his 10th win of the season, his 382nd start for Boston, and All-Star credentials that will frankly cause us to go visit Joe Maddon's house if Tim isn't selected for St. Louis.

In the 1-0 win in Atlanta, an RBI single by Mark Kotsay was the only offense to report, so we'll spend a little more time extolling the virtues of our favorite knuckleballer. Though this line - 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 K - wasn't dazzing, it got the job done on a 187-degree day. "He continues to just pitch his rear end off," marveled Terry Francona. "I think it’s a testament not only to longevity and perseverance, but also the organization for keeping me around and giving me a chance to still pitch in a Red Sox uniform," added the man of the hour, who also holds the distinction of having more starts with his current team than anybody else in baseball. When Wake made his Sox debut, the starting lineup featured Mike Greenwell, Tim Naehring, and the great Tuffy Rhodes. That's a long time ago.

Brad Penny will go today for the sweep and the end of interleague ball.

Not celebrating with the team in Atlanta was owner John Henry, who was in Boston getting married. The 59-year-old Henry hitched himself to 30-year-old Linda Pizzuti in a star-studded gala to which, surprisingly, neither any Red Sox players or local Internet sports columnists were invited. Really, John? You'd rather spend your special day with Alan Dershowitz and the Farrelly brothers than with David Ortiz and us? Or even Tim Wakefield? Tsk tsk.

Photo by Paul Keleher, from photos tagged 'Bostonist' on Flickr.